Scientific Purpose: Continued work to enhance the team’s previous intervention by supporting the adoption
and maintenance of exercise among cancer survivors. The intervention is delivered
in partnership with the Reach to Recovery program of the American Cancer Society.

Campus-Community Partnerships for Hispanic Health Research

Lead Investigator: DeAnne K. Hilfinger Messias, PhD, RN, FAAN

Emphasis Area: Vulnerable Populations

Scientific Purpose: Federally qualified health centers and other health care agencies serving the growing
Latino immigrant population must provide culturally and linguistically appropriate
services to meet the needs of this emerging patient population. At the same time,
Hispanics with limited English proficiency must become proficient in accessing and
utilizing the local health care systems. The incorporation of community health workers/health
navigators/promotoras de salud into health education and outreach efforts is a key
component of our research initiatives in South Carolina and the Texas-Mexico border.

Disaster Preparedness and Mass Casualty Research

Lead Investigator: Joan Culley, PhD, MS, MPH, RN, CWOCN

Emphasis Area: Health Systems

Purpose of current study:

To mitigate the “surge” of casualties into a healthcare facility after a mass casualty
incident (MCI), emergency responders and hospital personnel use triage to rapidly
assess patients and prioritize their care with the goal of saving as many lives as
possible. Using Emergency Department Informatics Computational Tool (EDICT) in routine
Emergency Department (ED) practice could potentially lead to a breakthrough in the
general use of informatics technology to dramatically improve the way patients are
processed in EDs. A flexible, robust and scalable informatics computational solution
has the potential for broader applications in other types of MCIs (e.g., foodborne
and communicable disease outbreaks), as well as day-to-day use in EDs. This study
is the first step to developing new ED informatics tools, which can change all ED
patient processing.

Scientific Purpose: The primary purpose of the research team is to understand the process of treatment
adherence to breast cancer treatment in African American women. The secondary purpose
is to develop interventions to improve treatment adherence.

Team Members:

Sue Heiney, PhD, RN, FAAN, Research Professor, College of Nursing

Swann Arp Adams, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing and Arnold School of Public Health

Cancer Disparities in Minority and Underserved Populations Research

Lead Investigator: Swann Arp Adams, PhD, MS

Emphasis Area: Health Promotion and Risk Reduction

Scientific Purpose: The focus of the research team is to understand and intervene upon disparities experienced
by minority populations using a variety of conceptual approaches including behavioral
change, access to care, and geographic information systems (built environment) principles.

Team Members:

Swann Arp Adams, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing and Arnold School of Public Health

Jan Eberth, PhD, Assistant Professor, Arnold School of Public Health

Sue Heiney, PhD, RN, FAAN, Research Professor and Dunn-Shealy professor of Nursing, College of Nursing

James R. Hébert, ScD, Professor, Arnold School of Public Health and Director, Cancer Prevention and Control
Program

Oluwole Babatunde, Doctoral Candidate, Arnold School of Public Health

Shared Decision Making about Lung Cancer Screening among High-risk Patients and their
Professional Caregivers

Lead Investigator: Karen Kane McDonnell, PhD, RN, OCN

Emphasis Area: Health Promotion and Risk Reduction

Scientific Purpose:Explore theoretically-based models of shared decision making between high-risk patients
and their professional caregivers (dyads). Develop and test clinically based decision
aids to facilitate shared decision making.

Scientific Purpose: The research team’s focus in on the development of a theory-based, multi-level intervention
that may improve AHT adherence among racial/ethnic and socio-economically-disadvantaged
survivors who experience excess rates of breast cancer mortality. This intervention
will be the first of its kind and has the potential to improve AHT adherence in an
underserved population known for poor AHT adherence rates and for being disproportionately
affected by breast cancer disparities.

James Hébert, ScD., MSPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics; Director of Statewide Cancer
Prevention & Control Program, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina

Ronit Elk, PhD, Research Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of South CarolinaDaniela Friedman, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, & Behavior, School
of Public Health; and Co-Director of Certificate of Graduate Study in Health Communication
Program, University of South Carolina

Sue Heiney, PhD, RN, FAAN, Research Professor and Co-Director of the Cancer Survivorship Center, College of Nursing,
University of South Carolina

James Hardin, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics; Director of the Biostatistics
Collaborative Unit, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina

Lindsay Peterson, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and Division of Hematology/Oncology,
Medical University of South Carolina, Hollings Cancer Center